Living Upstream: Vital Currents in China
Pacific Village Institute
Visit their Web Site
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Primary Location:
| *Various Cities* - China | |
Highlights:
| Explore extraordinary history, major art forms/philosophies, bold political & economic reforms, and environmental change... | |
Length:
| 1 - 2 Semester(s) | |
Dates:
| 9/10/2003 - 12/9/2003 | |
Accomodations:
| Dormitory, Homestay, Hostel, Hotel | |
Eligibility:
| Minimum Age: 15
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Description:
| China provides a vast canvas for PVI students to learn about the largest human population on Earth, a civilization’s extraordinary 5,000-year history, major art forms, philosophies and religious traditions, the world’s most rapidly transforming economy, and the global epicenter of environmental change. We begin our semester in Beijing where we explore monuments of China’s ancient and modern history—The Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, and the Great Wall, among others—and meet with journalists, students, professionals, and international organizations. From the urban political capital, we head southwest to our program base in Yunnan province, a culturally diverse tropical region along the borders of Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos, and the Tibetan Plateau. Four of Asia’s great rivers – the Yangtze, Mekong, Salween and Irawaddy – flow through Yunnan from their origins high in Himalayan glaciers, creating rugged gorges and lush valleys that host China’s most vital biodiversity as well as Naxi, Tibetan, Yi, and Bai ethnic communities. Lijiang is our base from which to explore more remote communities, and also a thriving city that encompasses an active, ancient Old Town; the realities of modern urban growth; and community resources including health, art, development and gender cooperatives and international organizations. With the support of PVI faculty, each student designs and pursues an Independent Study Project involving direct collaboration with artists, scholars, humanitarian workers, technology and business professionals, or spiritual leaders. Water is also a central thematic focus, given the area’s Great Rivers Project, neighborhood canals, and China’s plans to build dozens of dams on the Mekong River upstream from contesting Southeast Asian nations. We conclude our program in Shanghai amid booming international commerce and urban development as students work to grasp the complexity of Chinese culture and its rapidly growing impact on global issues and life in the United States. | |
URL:
| http://www.PacificVillage.org |
This listing is part of PlanetEdu's Educational Travel category.
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